Sun and Flower
by le stylo
Summary: V is Rika's sun and she is his flower. A look into a tragic love story.


Disclaimers: I do not own Mystic Messenger. It belongs to Cheritz.

Sun and Flower

They were well-suited for each other. No. Not well-suited. Perfect. They were quite the pair: tall, handsome, charismatic and talented V and beautiful, generous, friendly and bright Rika. V had a good eye for beauty even for the most uncanny subjects but he also had good intuition about people. He saw the good in people, even the unexpected ones. His childhood friend, Jumin Han, would be the first to admit such a thing. So when he laid eyes upon Rika, there was an immediate spark of interest. She was beautiful on the inside out. They locked eyes, she smiled at him and he fell. When he saw that smile he knew he wanted to protect it forever. Rika was V's flower and to her, he was the sun. When Rika saw V, he was shining with a bright aura that radiated warmth. To her, his mere presence brought happiness. And so the two became inseparable.

Together, they formed the RFA. It happened simply and naturally. The pair was casually enjoying each others' company and it was Rika who brought up her hopes and dreams. Rika wanted to be happy and part of that involved spreading happiness. At the sight of her talking about her ambitions, V melted and he knew where he wanted to be. He wanted to be by her side and to follow her. Without even thinking about it he told her and on that day he breathed life into a solemn vow.

"Your photographs... I believe they can make people happy."

Such words resonated with him and he believed it. After all, their fates were joined together by one of his photographs. But it was also her proposal that gave him purpose. He enjoyed photography. He knew he had talent. But she made him believe that he could change lives in turn making his life feel meaningful. In the shared feeling of having purpose and with the goal of spreading happiness, the RFA was created. What began with a simple idea backed by V's beautiful art evolved into a thriving success connecting hubs of people. But with that success came stress and a revelation. Rika was sick.

Rika had been holding it in and with V it was easy. But there were times it was so overwhelming, she cracked and she would sometimes disappear for periods of time crying, laughing and screaming all on her own. But nobody knew. Because after some time she'd stop, wipe away the tears, freshen up and put a smile on her face and face everyone as if nothing happened. The RFA made Rika feel good but it also took a toll on her. One day, V found her in a moment of weakness and she had no choice but to reveal the truth. He had found her a sobbing mess on the floor, an exacto knife in hand poised and ready to cut into her flesh. In a panic, he slapped the blade out of her hand, pulling her into him. He didn't ask why. But she answered the question anyway.

"The truth is spreading joy also brings me pain."

He could only guess what she meant, as he held held her not wanting to ever let go in a room with paper strewn all over and heavy binders scattered all over the floor. Behind her, he couldn't help but ' notice stationary and an envelope. Choi Saeran. His eyes narrowed and shut tightly as his embrace.

Ever since that day, he was with her on every episode she had. His adoration never faltered. Rika felt. relieved there was someone she could lean on. V took comfort in her well-being. RFA continued to run smoothly. Rika, in the forefront became a pure figure breathing life not only into the guests they invited but the members of the organization. V was the support, believed to be the leader who made things possible. With Rika's nurturing due to her deep sensitivity and empathy towards others and V's reliable and trustworthy nature, the RFA became more than just a charitable organization. It was a family. So then how did it become like this...? V could not even fathom how fragile Rika was nor did he see the threads binding the RFA together unwinding. It all came to a head when Sally ran into the streets and died.

Nobody including V knew how to sooth her pain. Rika couldn't help it, she had broken down to each member individually. But still, they had no idea the pain she experienced. V continued to shine down on her like the sun and she endured the never ending war within herself. He had no idea that his flower was wilting away. He also had no idea how symbolic Sally was in his lover's life. While she buried the guilt, and locked it away from the outside, it ate away at her from the inside. Rika's state was there for him to see in the whole situation with Sally. Why had he not noticed? The blinded Sally was Rika, a creature that had to live well enduring personal hardship. Rika's decision not to get surgery was like a personal statement about herself, that she is strong and could live as she is. Then that means after Sally's death... Rika must have felt like a failure, a hypocrite. She was so in tune with feelings, she could feel someone else's feelings by being around them, amplified. In her eyes it must have been her fault, she was the one who killed Sally.

In the middle of planning a party Rika had a break down. She started crying and screaming about what a horrible person she was. How unlovable she was. Such words pained V. He knew it wasn't her intention to invalidate him. He pushed the feeling aside and focused on her.

"No matter what you do, I will love you. I will be here for you." He murmured into her hair.

She shoved him away softly, repeatedly calling him a liar. He could only smile sadly. No matter what he couldn't quiet down the voices of fear within her. His light wasn't reaching her. But he stood there and took it all. V, concerned and helpless suggested for his love to go to therapy once she had calmed down. He would go with her as his support he assured her. For the first week, they went together. By the second week, she told him she could go alone. She tried for another week after but then stopped going all together. At the point all RFA activities appeared to be postponed indefinitely. Everyone was waiting to know when the next party would be held. So it was a big shock when the next time V came onto the messenger was to announce the death of Rika.

Suicide. No body. No proof. No real explanation. No one really reaching the conclusion Rika was suffering inside her own head. Still, everyone managed to keep trusting V. All except little Yoosung who was the most confused and angry of all. Yoosung who loved Rika dearly and believed in her. The young boy whose innocence he wanted to protect the most from the truth..

This is for the best, V thought to himself. He had to hide everything to protect them. He had to protect Rika. This way, no one would keep asking about her whereabouts. They will get over it. He will carry the pain and burden of knowing the truth. Everyone would just go back to their lives. Which they did. But once in a while they'd be on the messenger sending random statuses or pictures. He could feel the distance with everyone and the feelings of excitement from coming to chat has long died down. It almost felt like they were strangers.

As they chatted idly about random things V could only think back at one of the last incidences that occurred. He was pleading and begging to be let in. Rika was defensive and she looked strong and determined. She declared that she was different. Better. For a moment she hesitated as if afraid to reveal her new self. She thought back to a time she confided in Jumin. Somehow it felt easy and natural to talk to him. Maybe it was because they were similar... wrapped in their own personal darkness. If V was the sun, then Jumin was the moon. She didn't want to look bad to V and under his light her shadows only got bigger. But with Jumin in the darkness, under his cool dim glow she felt at ease. She shook her head , she had to do it now, no more waiting and hesitating. She started talking about her new thoughts and ideals. She stopped mid passionate speech to look into V's face and her face darkened.

"You...think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No. Rika I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" She screeched. In her anger she clawed at one of his eyes and started throwing objects in a rampage.

She finally stopped after a while to the sight of V on his knees, his face in his hands. She could see blood pooling through his hands, onto his clothes and on the floor. She stared horrified at the sight but she couldn't look away. As he looked up through blurry, bloodied vision she smirked.

"Still love me?" She taunted.

He didn't say a word. But he slowly got up and then stumbled towards her. Once he reached her he collapsed onto her, his arms encircling her waist for support. For a moment Rika's face softened at the sight. How she longed to hold him back, to run her fingers through his hair. Her fists clenched at her sides. No. She won't let her resolve waver. She placed a hand on his head and pushed him onto the floor. V pulled himself up onto his knees his head bowed down. Just barely above a whisper, she could hear him muttering a broken chant of "I love yous." Rika turned with a swish of her golden hair and walked away. When V looked up he saw her back slowly disappearing behind the door and he knew that the Rika he knew was gone and the world they built had crumbled into pieces.

V had no time to be depressed. He wanted to... and though his mind always wandered back to his flower he knew that he had others relying on him. He told Luciel and Jumin about his eyes. Then he scattered many truths like a puzzle, giving only bits and pieces to each RFA member all the while investigating Rika's whereabouts. His lover had fallen into deep despair and darkness and he followed her. I'm sorry, he thought to himself as he thought of Jumin, Luciel, Zen, Jae Hee and Yoosung. He found himself apologizing every day, mostly to himself but occasionally on messenger and through phone calls as well. V maintained Rika's innocence. What happened to her—what she was currently doing it was all his fault. It was his own darkness that warped her, how he failed her when she needed him, how he couldn't communicate with her in the way he should have, how he hid things like he was ashamed and how he continued to do so because he couldn't face things due to his cowardice. And her blinding him? That definitely wasn't her. It was him. He hurt himself and he used her to do it. He was being a coward again. Was it to prove his love to her that he even gave her the idea? Or was it because he couldn't bear to see what was in front of him? Because he couldn't stand the sight of himself?

Soon. They will all find out soon. Nothing could be completely hidden in the world. Luciel had the skills to uncover the secrets . V didn't know that the catalyst would arrive THAT soon though and in the form of a pretty girl. She was both a gift and an innocent unknowing victim. Another name added to the list he apologized to daily. The entire time she was bait. He knew it right from the beginning. V did not have the heart to take away hope from everyone. The possibility of the RFA coming back to life, bringing everyone together and fixing their bonds gave V a feeling of great warmth he hadn't experienced in a long time. For him personally... it maintained a connection to Rika. The girl gave him reason to keep following his lover into the darkness, not just to be around her but also for a very good and scary reason. That girl was proof of how active Rika was, he could gauge the s safety of his makeshift family and ultimately it was proof of how far Rika could extend her will. V knew he had to be the one to act first and to do so covertly as possible. If everything could be solved without causing anyone trauma, that would be ideal. The thought of everything rushing out like water breaking through a dam made V feel ill and filled him with dread. If he didn't keep so much and continued to do so would things have gone smoother? That question haunted V every day. Yet he couldn't stop what he was doing. Testing everyone's trust in him again and again. He had to protect everyone if something went wrong, his guilty conscience would really swallow him whole. Meanwhile Rika built another organization, being skilled in empathizing with people and then using their weaknesses once she has learned them. Even now, even though he didn't... or rather he couldn't share her vision, the truth was that Rika still held him in the palm of her hands.

"The world will not be destroyed by evil, but by those who watch without doing anything." -Alpert Enzyme.

Rika was not evil. She would never be evil. But what she was doing he knew was wrong. And what did he do until now? He watched and waited. Waiting... for what? A time to strike? Would there ever be a time? The truth was that he just wasn't the type to be able to do anything. Yes, he spied and gathered intelligence on this 'savior,' but as a matter of being able to do anything to literally change anything? It was out of his hands. Again he chanted apologies. Not only did he take advantage of the RFA's trust in him. He was using them. More specifically, Luciel. From the outside, he could be seen as someone who was blameless. He kept his hands clean. But at what cost? The happiness and security of those he cared about? What a worthless piece of shit he was. He was lower than dirt. He deserved to be blind—no. He deserved to see for himself the monster that he was. In a way what Rika did to his eyes were a kindness, one he did not deserve.

Somehow, V knew that for it all to end—he had to go. Perhaps that was why he lingered on, plotting and waiting without doing anything. He wanted as much time with Rika as possible. He wanted to get his fill. But it never seemed to be enough. It took for things to escalate the way they did for him to really make moves. How could he let it happen that way? When he was kidnapped and held as a prisoner, he felt bittersweet. In her presence his heart still raced, and like silent prayers he declared his love for her while she patronized him. She admitted that she was glad he was blind, that way, she'd be able to do what she wanted. No. V thought, she could have done anything she wanted to, even if he could see. He would watch and he would see everything through with her. That's when he realized how hard it must have been for her. She wanted so badly to look strong to him. She was afraid of what he would see and how he would feel about it. All those things that could be expressed just with his eyes.

Everything happened so fast. Before he knew it, V found him self falling onto his side on the ground. He felt the impact hitting the ground but surprisingly not the hellish pain he should be feeling from the gaping hole in his body. He heard Rika's piercing shriek and her panicked cries. Through blurred vision he could make out her distressed face. V's lips curled into a smile. The Rika he was seeing wasn't the one before him. The one he was seeing was the one who was staring at his photo and who gave him a smile that changed his life. This was the Rika he had preserved in his heart, like how he preserved beauty in his photos.

With this, V hoped to be forgiven. He had long since lost his life's purpose: loving Rika and photography and yet he was happy at this very moment. It would be over for him, and Rika... perhaps she would finally free from her inner darkness. The world they created completely turned to dust and the final chapter to its mystery would unfold, at least to the RFA. However, Rika's reputation would remain untarnished. Her name would live on as a beautiful, kind and generous woman who wanted nothing more but to bring happiness to the world. Beneath the wreckage of secrets and pain a new world—a brighter future would be born. After all, new seeds were planted and the flowers will bloom.

A/N: This is it. That V and Rika fanfic. Slipped some Jumin in here too. Hoping it's not too confusing to follow especially at the end since I finished before bed time. Yes Alpert Enzyme is Albert Einstein. Hope this was enjoyable to read. R/R


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